According to new research, presented June 19 at the 7th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, music by Mozart has been shown to have an anti-epileptic effect on the brain and may be a possible treatment to prevent epileptic seizures.
Researchers believe that the acoustic (physical) properties within the music are responsible for this effect.
A team led by Professor Ivan Rektor, from the Epilepsy Centre at the Hospital St Anne and CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, compared the effects of listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos K448 with Haydn's Symphony No 94. The effects on brain activity were measured by intracerebral electrodes that had been implanted in the brains of epilepsy patients prior to surgery.
Professor Rektor reported the following: "To our surprise, there were significant differences between the effects of listening to Mozart's K448 and Haydn's No 94."
"Listening to Mozart led to a 32% decrease in EDs but listening to Haydn's No 94 caused a 45% increase.
"Listening to Haydn's music led to suppressed epileptiform discharges only in women; in the men, there was an increase of epileptiform discharges.
"We believe the physical 'acoustic' features of the Mozart music affect brain oscillations - or brain waves - which is responsible for reducing EDs."
The Mozart Effect was first conceived in the early nineties but there wasn't any concrete data available at the time to prove or disprove the theory. Researchers are now hopeful that the results may pave way for the development of personalized music therapy for the prevention and management of epileptic seizures.
To read the full report you can go to Sky News.
